There are times I want juxtapositions. And there are times I don't.
For example, when non-linear editing was becoming a thing, it was possible to organize all of a project's footage into its smallest units, each one tagged in such a way as to be able to find that one and only that one.
At the time, I was reading an article by editor Walter Murch who advocated for a loose method of digitally organizing footage to facilitate discovery and juxtaposition. After all, juxtaposition is traditionally a product of chance, serendipity. So his proposal provided for chance, forcing us to see more than the one clip we're looking for. It would allow mental connections to happen that otherwise wouldn't happen.
Serendipity.
And I've followed this method ever since as an editor. Especially on long-form projects.
On the other hand, outside of editing and post-production there are areas where I do everything to prevent that kind of cross-pollination. Or, at the very least, I set limits in place, a bit of fence.
For example, over the years my web browser became an scene of chaos. Lots of tabs open all the time. To the point where my own daughter expressed her exasperation.
At me.
I won't lie, all those open tabs reflect something similarly messy about the way my brain works. I think about a lot of things. All the time.
And those thoughts bounce.
Eventually, though, the open tabs became so out of hand that I couldn't find anything I already had open. So, after some research (online, of course), I hit on "tab managers" and put one immediately into play.
You see, even though I think about a lot of things, they tend to be types of things. For example, communication & social media. Bill paying. Reading (including news, magazines, and aggregators). Post-production. And so on.
As I take on different projects, I create new tab groups specific to my thinking about individual projects, even individual challenges within those projects if they grow complicated enough.
So... limits. A bit of fence.
It's a huge help to me as I mentally dip in and out of the things I'm thinking about and for which I'm responsible personally and professionally. These are a sincerely eclectic group of topics that I can only wrap my brain around one at a time. No distractions allowed. If I wanna operate at my best.
Anyway.
There are times I want juxtapositions.
And there are times I don't.









